The identity of the person who died in a shooting in Wheatland Thursday night was released by the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department at a press conference Friday morning.
Joseph Riley, 23, was shot and died in the Wheatland home that he rented in the 315th block of 71st Street. Two people had kicked in a door and entered the home and opened fire, Sheriff David Beth said.
Two suspects in the homicide — a 17 year old male from Racine and a 20 year old male from Racine — are in custody. Both had been shot when they were taken into custody at a gas station/fast food restaurant on Highway 50 in Paddock Lake shortly after the shooting in Wheatland was reported. Beth said he believes they were shot by Riley returning fire at the initial crime scene. Another person who at the home before the gunfire started was also shot and was at a Milwaukee hospital with serious injuries.
Beth identified the suspects in Riley’s shooting as Markeith Wilson, 20, of Racine and Demarco Hudson, 17, of Racine. Both were expected to make an initial court appearance in Kenosha Friday.
Beth said investigators believe the break-in was drug related, though he did not elaborate on how.
Deputies responded to the 71st Street address at about 10:30 p.m., Thursday after receiving an anonymous phone call that there had been a shooting there. Riley and a woman who had been shot were there. Two other people are believed to have been at Riley’s house when the incident began. One fled the scene and that person’s identity is known to the sheriff’s department. The whereabouts or identity of the fourth person is not known, Beth said.
The Sheriff’s Department is looking for a black four-door sedan that was used to transport Wilson and Hudson to the Paddock Lake parking lot where they were dropped off, Beth said. That car may have been driven and occupied by two other people.
While the person or persons driving the four-door sedan are not in custody, law enforcement officials do not believe they are a threat to the public.
“We were very confident that all of the parties that posed a threat to anybody were in custody,” Beth said. “This was a targeted situation. This wasn’t a random act. They knew where they were going. They knew what their objective was. The general public was never at risk with this one.”
Here is video of the press conference from Friday morning (video by Earlene Frederick):
A GoFundMe page to raise money for Riley’s funeral expenses has been established.
